GB2118848A

GB2118848A - Stereoscopic and electronic game device

Info

Publication number: GB2118848A
Application number: GB08311488A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nobuo Hamano; Kazumi Matsumoto
Original assignee: Tomy Kogyo Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tomy Kogyo Co Ltd
Priority date: 1982-04-28
Filing date: 1983-04-27
Publication date: 1983-11-09
Also published as: JPS58166385U; ES272121U; DE8312414U1; GB2118848B; GB8311488D0; FR2525909A1; US4561723A; DE3315270A1; IT1163258B; ES272121Y; IT8320837A0; IT8321677V0

Description

1 GB 2 118 848 A 1

SPECIFICATION Stereoscopic game

The present invention provides a stereoscopic game, comprising:

a housing having left and right viewing windows; and an electrically driven display device mounted within said housing, said display device having a right pattern set of picture elements that are selectively displayable through the right viewing window and a substantially similar left pattern set of picture elements that are selectively displayable through the left viewing window, each picture element of one pattern set corresponding to a picture element of the other pattern set and being selectively displayed simultaneously therewith to produce a stereoscopic effect.

In its preferred form, the present invention relates to a hand-held electronic game which can be viewed stereoscopical ly as the player manipulates operating while holding the game to his eyes like a pair of binoculars. More specifically, the game is equipped with a display device, such as a liquid crystal display element, which is controlled by a microprocessor so as to selectively display picture elements viewed by the left eye and corresponding picture elements viewed simultaneously by the right eye.

In recent years a wide variety of electronic games have been marketed. Such games typically employ display devices (e.g., liquid crystal display devices, LED display devices, or vacuum - fluorescent tube display devices) having picture elements in a pattern which extends substantially over the entire display area of the display device.

The picture elements in the pattern are selectively rendered visible in order to convey the impression that characters are moving. Electronic games of this type have the advantage of being small and rugged, so that they can be played anywhere. On the other hand the action conveyed by such games is limited by being two-dimensional. A variety of games enhancements are possible if the action can be played three-dimensionally or stereoscopically.

Accordingly, the primary object of the present 110 invention is to provide a hand-held electronic game which can be viewed stereoscopical ly. This can be accomplished by providing a display device having a display area which is divided into left and - right pattern sets which are substantially similar to 115 each other. Each pattern set has a plurality of picture elements which can be selectively rendered visible in a conventional manner under microprocessor control. The picture elements of the left pattern set are selectively displayed simultaneously with corresponding picture elements in the right pattern set. Picture elements of the left pattern set are viewed by the player's left eye and picture elements of the right pattern set are viewed by the player's right eye, with corresponding picture elements being arrayed at positions separated by a distance which corresponds to the parallex of the left and right eyes. Accordingly, corresponding left and right picture elements appear to fuse together wlen viewed, thereby producing a stereoscopic effect. Different sequences of the corresponding picture elements of the left and right patterns can be successively rendered visible in order to ' convey the impression of motion in three dimen'sions. This effect can be enhanced if each pattern includes a plurality of picture elements that are congruent in form but different in size, since sequential display of such element imparts a perspective effect which augments the stereoscopic effect in order to convey a realistic impression of three dimensional action.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game according to an embodiment of the invention,illustrating in general the operating buttons positioned for convenient access as the player peers through the viewing windows and. illustrating the light shutter fully open to permit a maximum amount of light through the light window; Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of Figure 1, and illustrates in general a diagonally disposed mirror reflecting light transmitted through one half of the game display to the corresponding viewing window; Figure 3 illustrates schematically the stereoscopic principle employed by the present invention; Figure 4 illustrates a game display having left and right pattern sets each having corresponding picture patterns which can be electrically selected for simultaneous display in order to convey a three dimensional visual effect; Figure 5 illustrates the display panel of Figure 4 with various corresponding picture patterns rendered visible simultaneously as they might be at some moment during operation of the game; Figure 6 illustrates the mental merger of the picture elements shown in Figure 5 under the influence of the stereoscopic principle shown schematically in Figure 3; and. Figure 7 is a generalized schematic diagram illustrating a game display electrically controlled by a microprocessor.

With reference to Figure 1, the game of the present invention includes abousing 2 which may be generally rectangular, as illustrated, or may take different forms. Viewing windows 4 are -disposed at one end of housing 2 and are spaced apart from each other like the eyepieces of binoculars. A lens 6 is positioned behind each window 4 so that, patterns presented on the game display, which will be described later, can be seen in an enlarged scale.

The upper portion of housing 2 has openings (not numbered) through which operating buttons 10, 12 and 14 protrude. These operating buttons are positioned near the left and right sides of housing 2 so that they can be conveniently manipulated by the player as he peers through viewing windows 4. An opening (not numbered) is 2 GB 2 118 848 A 2 also provided for onoff switch 8. In the embodiment illustrated the player first moves switch 8 to the "on" position and then manipulates operating buttons 10, 12, and 14 in an attempt to emerge victorious in a simulated space battle against alien attackers. Peering through viewing windows 4, the player can depress--- left-button 12 and---righV button 14 to position his simulated rocket ship for attacking or evading the aliens, while---shoot-button 10 can be depressed to simulate the firing of projectiles towards the enemy.

With continuing reference to Figure 1, a light transmitting window 16 is disposed on the upper surface of housing 2 in order to permit incident light to enter the housing. Turning now to Figure 2, game display 26 is positioned within housing 2 immediately below window 16. Display 26 is a liquid crystal display element of the transmission type. Window 16 is preferably a milky color in order to uniformly diffuse incident light before it reaches display 26.

Returning to Figure 1, runners 22 and 24 are affixed to housing 2 in order to slidably mount light shutter 18. Shutter 18 can move from a position which covers window 16 to a position which fully exposes window 16 to the incident light. Shutter 18 may be translucent, so that the game may be played in bright light with the shutter closed and in dimmer light:with the shutter 95 open. A greater degree of latitude is afforded, -however, if shutter 18 is made opaque and a lamp 20 is mounted on the underside thereof. Electrical contacts (not illustrated) are provided at a recessed position beneath guide 22 in order to connect lamp 20 to electrical cells 42 (see Figure 2) within housing 2 when shutter 18 is'moved to a position completely covering w.i fidow 16. This allows the g"ame to be played at night or at other times when the incident light is insufficient.

Turning next to Figure 4, transmission-type liquid crystal display element 26-includes.a pair-of left andAght patterns 2BL and 28R each -. consisting of.a plurality of picture elements that are substa'ntially thesame. In operation a picture element in left pattern 28L Is rendered visible simultaneously with the corresponding picture element in right pattern 28R. For example, rocket elements 30L and 30R are rendered visible simultaneously. In order to heighten the enjoyment of the game a film bearing the same patterns as those illustrated in Figure 4, but printed in different colors for each of the picture elements, is affixed to the upper surface of display element 26. Such a film allows the picture elements which are rendered visible t o display different colors.

Returning now to Figure 2, it has previously been noted that game display 26 is mounted directly beneath window 16: The previouslymentioned colored film is not illustrated as a separate element in Figure 2 but is affixeid to the upper surface of display 26. Display 26.is mounted on a printed circuit board 32 which also supports other electrical components, such as microprocessor 36. Printed circuit board 32 has an opening 34 positioned beneath display 26. Mirror 38 is diagonally disposed beneath opening 34 in order to reflect visible patterns from display 22 toward viewing window 6. Accordingly, when window 16 is exposed to light and power supply switch 8 is moved to the "on" position, an image such as the one illustrated in Figure 5 is projected through opening 34 onto mirror 38, and is viewed on an enlarged scale through lenses 6. The visible pattern presented by the left side 28L of display 26 is viewed by the left eye and the visible pattern presented by the right side 28R is viewed by the right eye, in the manner illustrated schematically in Figure 3. In order to ensure that light from pattern 28L does not reach the viewer's right eye, for example, a separator plate as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 1 is provided within housing 2. Separator plate 40 stretches from the front surface of housing 2 to mirror 38, thereby limiting what can be seen by each eye. Due to parallax of the two eyes, left and right pattern images illustrated in Figure 5 are merged by the mind into a single image as illustrated in Figure 6. This single image has a stereoscopic effect, although this cannot be adequately portrayed by Figure 6.

The electrical circuitry of the toy is illustrated in very general form in the schematic block diagram of Figure 7 since, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, the present invention lends itself to any number of computer-controlled games whose specific circuitry, progr ams, and display elements can vary considerably. Display element 26 Is controlled by microprocessor 36, which includes an internal RAM and a ROM for storing the program to drive display 26. When switch 8 is closed, reset circuit 44 resets microprocessor 36 to provide an initial visual pattern on display element 26. Reference number 46 represents a clock generator. Buttons 10, 12 and 14 operate switches which provide input signals for microprocessor 36.. AlthoiLigh there are a number of ways for providing such switches it is economical to form each switch from a pair of 1-10 spaced-aoart conductor patterds on board 32 and a -conductor on each button to bridge the spacedapa'rt patterns when the button is depressed.

The game according to the present embodiment can be played as discussed below.

The picture patterns that are visible in Figure 5, which are view stereoscopically by the player as illustrated in Figure 6, include alien attackers 48 and 50 which approach from the distance in a random fashion. To combat these enemies, the player rTianipulates buttons 12 and 14 to control the position of his rocket 30, and depresses button 10 to fire simulated projectiles toward the approaching enemy. Points are scored on a sevensegment display. When the player depresses the "idff' button 12, his rocket 30.appears to move in the counter-clockwise direction. The rocket 30 appears to move in the clockwise direction upon depression of "right" button 14.

In the present embodiment, both the flying objects and the projectiles appear to move three 1 3 GB 2 118 848 A 3 dimensionally even though display element 26 is only two dimensional. This three dimensional effect is a product of both the stereoscopic principle discussed earlier and the visual perspective imparted by the different sizes of the display patterns. For example the picture elements representing aliens 48 vary in size depending upon their apparent distance.

Although the above description has explained on embodiment of the present invention, it should be noted that the game can be modified in a number of ways. For example, the display element may be a liquid crystal display of the reflection type instead of the transmission type, or a florescent display or cathode-ray tube display could alternately be employed. Any of such displays can be used to provide three-dimensional games which can be viewed stereoscopically in the manner discussed above.

Claims

1. A stereoscopic game, comprising:

a housing having left and right viewing windows; and an electrically driven display device mounted within said housing, said display device having a right pattern set of picture elements that are selectively displayable through the right viewing window and a substantially similar left pattern set of picture elements that are selectively displayable through the left viewing window, each picture element of one pattern set corresponding to a picture element of the other pattern set and being selectively displayed- simultaneously - therewith to produce a stereoscopic effect.

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2.Thesfereosco_ plc- game of claim 1, further comprising at least one operating button disposed on Said housing and meads for displaying picture elements in response to activation of said at least one operating button.

3. The stereoscopic game of claim 1, wherein each pattern set includes a plurality of picture elements having congruent configurations but different sizes to produce a perspective effect as the elements are selectively displayed.

4. The stereoscopic game of claim 1, wherein the display device is a transmission-type liquid crystal display element and wherein the housing has a lighting window therein to permit incident light to reach the display element.

5. The stereoscopic game of claim 4, wherein the lighting window is milky to diffuse light reaching the display element, and further comprising a light permeable film disposed between the lighting window and the display element, said film having coiored regions corresponding to said picture elements.

6. The stereoscopic game of claim 5, further comprising a light shutter, and means mounting said light shutter to said housing for movement between a first position wherein said light shutter intercepts light before it reaches the display element and a second position wherein said light shutter allows lig_ht to reach the display element.

7. The stereoscopic game of claim 6, further comprising a lamp mounted on the light shutter, and means for illuminating said lamp when said light shutter is in said first position.

8. The stereoscopic game of claim 4, further comprising a diagonally disposed mirror mounted within said housing to reflect light transmitted through the left and right pattern sets to the left and right viewing windows, respectively, and a separator plate"extending from the mirror toward the viewing windows to keep light from the right pattern set from reaching the left viewing window.

9. The stereoscopic dame of claim 1 substantially as desefibed herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Printed for Her 'Majesty's Stationery. Office by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa, 1983. Published by the Patent Office 25 Southampto6, Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from,which copied may be obtained.